Quail Emphasis Areas

The long-term goal for Quail Emphasis Areas is a density of one quail per two acres in the fall before the hunting season. Several of the areas are approaching this goal as Department managers continue to increase habitat-improvement efforts there. For example, staff are using prescribed fire to open up bare ground and promote annual plants, creating brood habitat for young quail. Another technique is removing cool-season tall fescue and smooth brome, which produce habitat conditions too thick for quail to walk through. Managers are also controlling other invasive plants and planting low-growing shrubs to provide escape cover for quail coveys. Strip disking of old fields and planted warm-season grass stands encourages annual plants and insects, which are a vital food source for young quail. Edge feathering and brush-pile construction creates winter and escape cover in the form of habitat edges between open land and forest. Natural communities such as glades, prairies, savannas and woodlands are also being restored to provide favorable quail habitat.

To determine whether they're meeting their goal, managers monitor Quail Emphasis Areas coveys each October with a predawn whistling survey. Private landowners interested in monitoring their own quail populations can do a similar survey using methods outlined in "Conduct Fall Covey Counts" under "Related Information" below. Managers survey quail and grassland birds again in May and June during the breeding season.

Most Quail Emphasis Areas are subject to statewide regulations for quail hunting. A few areas have some hunting restrictions in order to protect the quail population from heavy hunting pressure. For additional information on Quail Emphasis Areas, call the phone numbers attached to each conservation area in the table.